A Memorial Day Prayer for AnimalsAnimals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion
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I woke up this morning ready to cry, and the tears have not left my eyes.

On a day like Memorial Day, which is designed to remember the dead, tears
will fall all across the U.S. This day was set aside to remember those who
have left this world before us – during war or during everyday life. The
deaths of millions and millions of people will be remembered today, often
with tears.

But how many people will take a moment to remember the billions of
animals that we humans are responsible for killing? Whether it is in
laboratories, factory farms, forests, circuses, zoos, or any of the other
killing fields that we have institutionalized. The death tolls climb too
fast for us to even conceptualize – the counters spin and spin, with too few
people trying to slow the progress.

I can only speak of the brutality and slaughter in which I have chosen,
for good or ill, to immerse myself. Pictures of sentient beings whose
captivity, suffering, and victimization have led them to self-destruction
swirl in my mind. Primates tearing at their flesh, biting off their own
fingers, ripping out their hair. They are accompanied by visuals of those
thoughtlessly destroyed by humans – used and thrown out – as if they were
nothing more than some piece of trash. Ironically, rats and mice, those
considered most disposable, are given so little consideration, that we can't
even be bothered to insure true death before they are tossed into the
carcass freezers. We can't even kill them correctly.

Ninety-nine
percent of the time I am ready for battle, wielding facts as weapons,
hell-bent on exacting retribution by shaming the abusers in the public eye.
But it's the one percent when the stench of death so fills my nostrils, when
the visions of corpses spin endlessly in my mind, when the stream of carnage
and insanity is so overwhelming that despair claws at my consciousness and
declares that I am utterly powerless to make any difference.

When I find myself in this pit of despair, I am tempted to give up. Walk
away and do something simpler and less depressing that doesn't fill my mind
with images that no one should be forced to see. But even now, when I am at
my weakest, when capitulation seems like the only choice, I know that it is
not a choice at all.

This is my lot, it is what I have chosen and I will not flinch from this
mission. I have said this so many times before, that it has become a cliché,
but with knowledge comes responsibility. Those of us who have seen these
horrors first hand, have an obligation to fight to the bitter end for their
termination. The price is irrelevant and the pain that we feel is
insignificant.

For if simply reading about their suffering, or seeing a picture can
swamp our souls, how much worse are the experiences of the animals who
actually endure the agonies that we only read about? If the imprisoned
animals can somehow, someway, get through another day as they wait for
someone to open the cage door and lead them to freedom, if they can go on,
then I MUST.

There really is NO CHOICE.

Right now, as you read this, millions upon millions of animals are
struggling through another day of suffering, waiting for an end. Hoping for
either freedom or death. Longing for their lives to become something like
what they were intended to be – and less like a nightmare.

What they are really waiting for is US. They wait for us to realize that
despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, despite the apparent strength of
those who exploit animals, despite the apathy of the masses, WE CAN MAKE A
DIFFERENCE.

We are capable of opening the doors of the labs and forcing the public to
look inside. The truth is sufficient, reality is horrible enough. We CAN
make everyone see that there simply is NO justification for brutality.
Selfishness does not justify slaughter. No matter how much money can be
made, no matter how scientifically interesting a process might be,
Scientific Curiosity does not justify Cruelty. Abstract Knowledge does not
justify Abject Victimization.

In
the end, one thing helps to make it all worthwhile – knowing that animals
can have freedom, too. In this imperfect world, we do sometimes get it
right. Animals do get out of labs, and circuses, and factory farms.
Sometimes the tears shed can be tears of joy. Recently, I have had this
experience, of watching an animal being released into a sanctuary, and
knowing that they had this experience, knowing that an animal is free at
least in part because of something you did, that is enough to last a
lifetime. A few animals are no longer waiting for someone to lead them to
freedom, they already have it. With that picture now in my mind, knowing
that death doesn't always win, it is possible to move on.

We must always remember that there is also good in the world, and we are
a part of it. If we fight hard enough, we have a chance to literally make it
happen. The freedom of even one animal is blessing enough to keep up the
battle. If you have saved even one animal, removed one being from suffering,
hold on to that one positive. Keep that rescue in your heart. Every new day
is another opportunity to make it happen again. Don't miss out on the chance
to give freedom to another, there are no better experiences in this world.

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